UEFA Champions League: Liverpool and Chelsea in Semi-Finals
April 8, 2008
A dramatic night in the UEFA Champions League has reached it’s conclusion - and what a great night of European football it has been.
Of the 4 teams involved in tonight’s fixtures, 3 were English. It’s fantastic to see such great representation of our home league in the latter stages of the tournament.
Firstly, Chelsea had to come from behind against Fenerbahce. The first leg in Turkey saw Chelsea throw away their lead to succumb to a 2-1 defeat. However, they did have that all important away goal which can prove to be so valuable in these fixtures.
Chelsea took an early lead through Michael Ballack after only 4 minutes to draw level on aggregate and the score remained unchanged until late on when Lampard scored in the 87th. This takes Chelsea through to the Semis 3-2 on aggregate.
The game of the night, however, was the tie between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield. The game was set up perfectly following a 1-1 draw at Anfield in the first leg. Would Dirk Kuyt’s valuable away goal prove vital?
The first 25 minutes were filled with mesmerising football from Arsenal (not easy to say for a Spurs fan!), and resulted in a fully deserved opener by Diaby in the 13th minute.
As Liverpool started to play themselves back into the game, they worked an equaliser from Sami Hypia. 1-1 at half-time.
The second half did not start as furiously as the first, but was entertaining all the same. But, in the 69th minute the game was revitalised by a moment of magic from Fernando Torres. A fantastic turn on the edge of the box, followed by a finish worthy of many a repla, resulted in Liverpool taking the lead 3-2 on aggregate.
The game remained open and competitive, and you sensed the next goal was going to be the decider.
We had to wait until 6 minutes from the end, and it went to Arsenal. A fantastic run down the right from substitute Theo Walcott, followed by a low pass into the box, left Adebayor with a tap in. The score now 3-3 on aggregate, but Arsenal with 2 away goals were destined for the semi-finals. As Anfield went almost deathly silent, with the exception of the few thousand Arsenal fans, it looked as though Arsenal would go through.
But, 90 seconds later, Toure tugged on Babel’s shirt in the Arsenal penalty area, and the ref immediately pointed to the spot - PENALTY!
Some may say it was a dubious penalty - but replays clearly showed a tug. Gerrard made no mistake from the spot, hammering the ball into the top left hand corner. 4-3 Liverpool!
As Arsenal pushed for the equaliser that would have taken them through on away goals, Liverpool again broke through in injury time. A placed shot from Babel finished Arsenal off, and ensured they would face Chelsea in the semi-finals.
The game as a whole was a fantastic advert for the Premier League. I would love to say that it was a great reflection on English football, but as there were only 4 Englishmen featured all night I can’t!
So, Liverpool v Chelsea in the semis. Any predictions? What are your thoughts on tonight’s fantastic match?
Make your comments below……..
You May Also Be Interested In.......
Comments
Have you got something to say? Say it then.......
